Economic downturn means fewer babies

The downturn in the economy has had people delaying doctor visits for years and is now also slowing pregnancy.

After steadily increasing for decades, there has been a decrease in the number of babies born at Milwaukee-area hospitals over the past three years. Newborn deliveries first plunged in 2009, and continued to decline in 2010 and 2011, according to HCTrends, a Milwaukee health care data tracking firm.

In the first nine months of 2011, there were 1,800 fewer deliveries compared with the same period in 2008, a drop of 8.5 percent. Of the 19 hospitals in southeastern Wisconsin that deliver babies, 14 delivered fewer babies in 2011 than the previous year.

“Smaller, community hospitals are impacted the most,” said Dave Jensen, editorial director for HCTrends. “This is not the primary reason for lower occupancy rates, but it’s the most significant decrease when you break it down by category.”

Milwaukee-area hospital systems could not say if the decrease in births was having a direct impact on their bottom lines.

However, the average cost of a birth in Milwaukee County is $10,100 and the average cost of a Caesarean section is $19,774, according to the Wisconsin PricePoint System, which is operated by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

“Births are down across the region and nation, including at some of our facilities,” said Michael Brophy, spokesman for Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, which has birthing services at seven of its Milwaukee-area hospitals. “We continue to align our operations with the trend in health care toward more cost-efficient outpatient services.”

Nationwide, 4.3 million babies were born in 2007, the highest number ever. In 2010, the number was slightly more than 4 million. Overall, 14 percent of women ages 18 to 44 said the economy has had an effect on their plans to increase the size of their families, while among married women, this increased to 17 percent, according to a recent Gallup Organization survey conducted for The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

As for delaying pregnancy, 12 percent of the women surveyed know someone who has postponed a planned pregnancy because of the economy. Nearly 1 in 10 married women indicated that the economy was a factor in their decision to postpone a planned pregnancy.

Smaller families

Dr. Rebecca Lawrence, a gynecologist with Wheaton Medical Group who practices at Milwaukee’s St. Joseph Hospital, where births were down about 2 percent from 2010 to 2011, said in addition to the economy slowing child birth, baby boomers are aging.

“Family sizes are a little smaller and I have seen birth rates decline in the metropolitan area, but for me personally, my patients have aged with me,” Lawrence said.

Overall, hospitals in the Milwaukee area saw sharp declines in occupancy rates in 2011, with nearly half of the facilities less than 50 percent full.

Of the 17 hospitals in the Milwaukee area, only two — Froedtert Hospital and Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center — had occupancy rates above 70 percent in 2011. Seven hospitals were below 50 percent and two others were below 60 percent.

One hospital that has taken a hit is Columbia Center, a specialty birth hospital at the Columbia St. Mary’s Ozaukee campus in Mequon.

The hospital performed 829 deliveries in 2010 and 637 in 2011, a 23 percent decrease, according to WHA.

Candy Casey, president and chief executive officer of Columbia Center, believes the decrease has to do with the economy, in part, but also the opening of Aurora Medical Center Grafton in November 2010. Aurora Grafton delivered 497 babies in 2011.